A Second Chance
by Tessa Anne
Summary: Leah Clearwater lost everything when she started phasing, and being asked to be the maid of honor for Emily and Sam's wedding was even more upsetting. When Leah thought that she would never find love or an imprint ever, on one bridal weekend with Emily and some of the other imprints, Leah found her soul mate in a single father who owns many hotels across the country. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

_**A Second Chance—Leah + OC (Set After Breaking Dawn)**_

**Leah Clearwater have suffered through a lot when her fiancé left her for her second cousin, and she slowly started to give up on love completely. When she started phasing, everything that she thought she could have again was stripped from her, especially the ability to be able to conceive a child. A couple of years have passed, and Leah's cousin asked her to be her maid of honor and the next thing Leah knows, she ends up going on a weekend bridal shower at a hotel up in Seattle.**

**During a long weekend at the hotel, Leah thought that she would be suffering the entire time, but not until she meets the owner of the hotel where she finds herself having a wonderful time. **

**Zack Ackerman owns many hotels across the country, and eventually in some countries as well, and though he's pretty successful...his love life is not. Being a single father to a little girl named Holly, Zack and Holly's mother's marriage didn't work out very well. Zack was too focused on his job while raising his daughter, that when he looked into Leah's eyes, his whole world changed...possibly for the better.**

**As Leah and Zack started to spend some more time together, Leah's secret and Zack's wealthy lifestyle and his nagging ex-wife tends to get in the way of a relationship that was meant to last. Will Leah and Zack make it to the end, or will it be too late?**

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><p><em>Prologue<em>

_Leah's POV_

I was a happy person once a long time ago; I had my family, a guy I was in love with, a dream to go to college and get a degree in business, and to start a family. I was a kid who dreamed more for her life, but my whole world changed by the time I'd turned eighteen. I was in love with Sam Uley since my freshman year, and of course we've known each other growing up in La Push, a reservation for the Quileute tribe. Funny thing about our relationship was that we were distant cousins through my mother, but that's one complicated story that even I can't figure out how it was possible.

Anyways, Sam and I were connected in many ways, both physically and emotionally, and I thought that we would be together forever, but when my cousin came for my high school graduation, everything changed. Emily Young and I were very close growing up, and I thought that we would always be best friends forever, but when I learned about Sam and Emily's relationship after Sam and I took a break and I went to California to visit my aunt for a couple of months, I was devastated.

Soon, I started to lose a part of my feminine self when not only my ex-fiancé (he proposed to me a month before I graduated) and my cousin got together, but also when my body started to change. I grew up learning and hearing about the legends of the tribe, but I never truly believed it until I started phasing. It was unheard of that a woman would become a shifter, and I was the first. When my little brother Seth phased, it seems a bit normal in our tribe, but it wasn't for me when I became one. I was terrified, and I blamed myself for a lot of things on that day when I phased for the first time...and why that was, it was because of my father's heart attack.

I was angry at my parents, at my brother, and at Sam and Emily for thinking of only themselves and didn't understand how hard it was to let go of the past and to move forward. When my father suffered a heart attack and died hours later, I was angry at him for leaving me and I was angry at myself for allowing this to happen. I wished that I could take it all back, but I couldn't. I saw myself as a monster, and when I phased, every little feminine part of me, including the ability to conceive, was gone. Everything was taken away from me, and I started to realize that I would never get it back.

Everyone hated me, and I don't blame them for it. I took out a lot of my anger on Sam, and even Jacob Black when he was in that phase of liking scrawny Bella Swan, and when I learned about what happened to Emily, I was happy. I shouldn't have thought that way, but I did, and my friendship with her was over. After my father's death, my mother started spending some time with Bella's father, and I was hating every moment of it. The only person who I worried about the most was Seth. Seth was only fifteen when Dad died, and though he was always a happy, optimistic person, I knew he was hurting on the inside. Though it felt like he was never truly there for me, he was there to hold me when I cried, and I swore that I would be there to protect and take care of him as long as I breathe.

Few years have passed since a lot of drama and battles with vampires occurred, and even finding Jacob imprinting on Bella's daughter with her leech lover, Nessie. Though Nessie is not a human child, she was very unique and I found myself to really like her. I guess when you join Jacob and my brother with the Cullen's that it changes how you picture things that you believe to be pure evil when it's not. As the years went by, the pack started to grow, and though I still live on the reservation, my loyalty was to Jacob and to my brother, no matter what.

I went to community college, and got into the nursing program. It took a lot of work, and I earned some scholarships and I also have loans that I would eventually pay off...but, it was worth it. Though I'm still completing the nursing program at the community college, I started to apply for four-year schools, some of them being farther away from home (some of them are out-of-state). It's still painful to live on the reservation and to watch my cousin and my ex's relationship growing tremendously, that they were even engaged almost a year after I stopped talking to them. Every single day that I ever run into one or both, it gets pretty difficult to keep it all bottled-up inside.

We kept my father's fishing store open after his death, and though my mother works as a nurse at the clinic on the reservation, she manages to also run the store and to help me with college and to raise Seth as well. Though my mother weren't always able to see eye-to-eye, we would always love each other, and I know that she wanted me and Seth to be happy no matter what.

I was stocking up some shelves in the store, while my mom was busy in the back office going over inventory. Seth was at school, and since I didn't have a class until later in the evening, I thought I would help Mom out for a while before I go off studying a bit before class. The doorbell went off, and when I turned to the door, Emily stood there. She had her long, crow black hair down and the scars that Sam marked her stood proudly on the side of her face and down her arm. I was shocked to see her, but I couldn't really speak to her without feeling anger and resentment. "Hi Leah,"

"Emily." I spoke, grabbing the tag gun and putting price tags on some of the fishing rods that I just put out earlier.

"How's everybody?" She asked, as she walked closer to me, but I was still upset with what happened before, and I have every right to be upset.

"We're fine, thanks for asking."

She rubbed her hands together nervously, as she took the tag gun out of my hand and put it on the shelf. "Leah, I'm so sorry about what happened with Sam. It shouldn't have happened that way, but you have to understand that Sam and I were connected in ways that helped me realize how right he was for me. You deserve so much more than Sam, and I know that you feel that way."

"I know that he couldn't deny the imprint, I learned to live with that. It's the way that you both went about it that hurt me even more. Emily, you and I were close growing up, and to watch you and Sam together, it was like a stab in the back."

"I know, and I'm so sorry, Leah. I'm sorry for everything that happened between you and me, and I hope that you and I can mend our relationship and friendship again."

I moved toward the check-out counter, just hoping that she would leave, but she didn't. "Sam and I have already set a date next month,"

"Okay, so what? Why are you here, then?"

"Because, I wanted to ask you if you would like to be my maid of honor. I know that a lot of things happened between the three of us, but you and I have always been close, and we promised each other when we were younger that we would be each other's maid of honors if either of us gets married. Leah, you are the closest thing I have to a sister, and you will always be my friend. Will you be my maid of honor?"

Thought a part of me started to regret it, I told her that I would. Emily and I made a promise to each other when we were younger, and I wanted to keep that promise to her, no matter what. Little did I know, becoming her maid of honor would lead me to someone else...who turns out to actually be my imprint...Zack Ackerman.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A Second Chance—Leah + OC (Set After Breaking Dawn)**_

**Leah Clearwater have suffered through a lot when her fiancé left her for her second cousin, and she slowly started to give up on love completely. When she started phasing, everything that she thought she could have again was stripped from her, especially the ability to be able to conceive a child. A couple of years have passed, and Leah's cousin asked her to be her maid of honor and the next thing Leah knows, she ends up going on a weekend bridal shower at a hotel up in Seattle.**

**During a long weekend at the hotel, Leah thought that she would be suffering the entire time, but not until she meets the owner of the hotel where she finds herself having a wonderful time. **

**Zack Ackerman owns many hotels across the country, and eventually in some countries as well, and though he's pretty successful...his love life is not. Being a single father to a little girl named Holly, Zack and Holly's mother's marriage didn't work out very well. Zack was too focused on his job while raising his daughter, that when he looked into Leah's eyes, his whole world changed...possibly for the better.**

**As Leah and Zack started to spend some more time together, Leah's secret and Zack's wealthy lifestyle and his nagging ex-wife tends to get in the way of a relationship that was meant to last. Will Leah and Zack make it to the end, or will it be too late?**

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading the first chapter, and I hope you will stick around for more of the story. I promise you that Leah will get her happily ever after pretty soon, and in this chapter, she will get to meet him. The next chapter will elaborate more on Leah's love interest, and hopefully you'll learn more about him as the story goes on, but for now, it's just an introduction.<strong>

**Thanks a bunch and happy reading, from Tessa Anne (formerly known as Dreamcatcher94)**

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><p><em>Chapter 1<em>

_Leah's POV_

I don't know exactly why I agreed to this, but here I am...at a hotel...with Emily as her maid of honor. I shouldn't have agreed to this, and yet here I am.

God, I'm so stupid! Why did I even say yes is beyond me, and a part of me truly wished that I had said no, but now that I'm here, I can't change my mind. Walking inside the hotel that we would be staying in for the weekend, trudging behind all the other girls including some of the imprints, made me feel like more of an outsider than anything else. They were their own little clique, while I was the only female shapeshifter that no one can be around because of my stubbornness and my anger toward practically everyone.

However, I will admit that the hotel that we're staying at is beautiful; magnificent, actually. The beautiful architecture and the way that it was made to feel homey, it was almost like a dream. I was in awe by the beauty of the building, and how it looked almost like a log cabin as well (which also made me fall more in love with it) that I didn't realize I was backing into somebody.

Normally, I'm not clumsy or too girly anymore since I started phasing, but feeling such strong arms that were so warm enclosed around my body caused me to feel safe and secure for the first time in a long time. I turned my head, and my dark eyes were caught in his crystal-blue ones. He was so handsome and strong, with his blonde hair slick-back in a sophisticated manner, and the only thing that I could think of in my mind was "finally!"

"Hey, you alright?" My handsome knight (don't know why I just thought that, but who cares) asked me, as he helped me stand. All I could do was nod, and I am never speechless at all. "I'm guessing from your nod that you're alright...but it would be nice to hear you say it."

How could I refuse him, so I finally said, "Yes, thank you for holding me...I mean, catching me. Oh God, I'm so sorry, I didn't see where I was going."

"That's alright, no one got hurt or anything. So, how do you like the hotel? I'm guessing that it's your first time here, let alone in Seattle."

"Actually I live four hours from here on a reservation called La Push, but the hotel is beautiful. It feels like home almost, or at least someplace that I would like to live in."

He chuckled, and I was already weak in the knees from his laugh. "So, you're from La Push, is that the Quileute reservation or the Makah. I can never get either one of them right, and I should know my history."

"It's the Quileute reservation; the Makah tribe lives in Neah Bay which isn't that far from where I live."

"Ah, so what's it like living near a beach? I'm honestly hoping that I got it right,"

I giggled, which I also never do (not even around Sam when we were together), and said, "It's beautiful, but it's always cold. But, I love where I grew up...at times, but when everybody knows your secrets and all the good and bad things that happens to you, it does kind of get to you."

"Leah?! Are you coming?" We turned to see Emily waving for me to come over so that we could get the keys to our rooms. I was immediately regretting leaving him, and I just replied to her with a nod. "I'm sorry, my cousin is pretty insistent. It's her bridal weekend, and I have no choice but to live up to her expectations, no matter how much I don't want to."

"I'm guessing that you're relationship with your cousin is not a very strong one, is it?"

It was like he read my mind or could see right through me. "It's a rather complicated story, one that I don't think you would be interested in."

"Well, maybe over a candlelight dinner, you may think otherwise."

"Are you asking me out?" This has to be a dream, right?

"Only if I can have your name, I will be." He took my hand in his and had a firm grip on it, and then he said, "My name is Zack, and once I have your name, I'll let you go with your friends and wait to see you again tonight in the dining room."

"Leah," I breathed out as he kissed my hand, which made me lose concentration for a moment. "My name is Leah Clearwater,"

"Well Leah, until tonight." He kissed my hand and walked away from me, as I grazed my fingers over the place where his lips touched my hand. As I was walking over to Emily and the others, I realized that once I looked into those beautiful eyes of his, not only did I feel alive for the first time in forever, but also that I had just found my imprint.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?!

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><p><em>Zack's POV<em>

Leah...I can't get her out of my head. After walking away from her so that she could be with her friends, it felt like a part of me was missing; that I was no longer whole until I could see her again tonight. Normally I would never be so forward at all, but when she bumped into me and nearly fell into my arms; looking into those dark holes that had emptiness for probably a long time, made me want to fix her and make her whole as she's beginning to make me.

I walked into my office, adjusting my suit when I went to sit down at my desk, my mind drifted to her. Leah Clearwater, how you haunt my mind is beyond me...and how much I want to hold you in my arms again it scares me. I don't know why I'm thinking this way, and I haven't felt like this in a long time, not since before my divorce. The only person that has my heart, and always will, is Holly...my little girl.

I picked up the picture frame that I have of Holly off my desk, and smiled as I held it. Holly looked more like her mother with her dark hair and hazel eyes that changes colors often in the sunlight, but her smile and bright eyes was mines, and she's my whole world. Holly's mother and I have a very complicated relationship, especially now that we're divorce...but with Holly, there's never a moment where it feels like the world is about to end.

I love Holly, and I always will, but even being a single parent and having sole custody is pretty difficult with my life in constant travel. Holly understands that my job is important, but I always made the effort to come home to see her as often as I could. Holly's mom, however is another story for another time. For now, Holly's been staying with my parents and siblings back in California while going to school and I'm very proud of how well she's doing. Yet, a part of me wish that I would find love again.

Holly's my life, yes, but after her mother and I divorced, I thought that I would never marry again. I threw myself into my job and into raising Holly that while her mom has had the time of her life with seeing tons of other men, I have not once dated ever again...until now.

Just meeting Leah within those few minutes before walking into my office, I felt such a strong connection with her that a part of me would be persistent on taking her out if she said no. When she didn't I felt relieved, and honestly, I have waited far too long and now this may be my chance to find love again. Though it may not be a good thing for me to start dating again, but meeting Leah changed everything.

My personal secretary, Vivian Conley walked into my office, her peppered-colored hair and the crinkle in her eyes brightened as soon as she noticed something was different about me. "Oh, dear Zack. What's on your mind?"

I smiled and answered, "Nothing really, just thinking that's all."

"Is it about a girl?"

I knew Vivian too well to know what she's plotting. Since my divorce, Vivian has been trying nonstop to set me up on dates; some of those dates were with either her daughters that are single or her daughters and daughters-in-laws' single friends. I find her to be a bit neurotic like my mother when it comes to my love life, but I know that they both mean well.

Eventually Vivian would figure it out, so I confirmed her suspicion. "Her name is Leah Clearwater, and she's a guest here in the hotel."

I could tell that Vivian wanted to dance around and say "I told you so," but all she did was smile. "Shall I make a reservation for you at your favorite restaurant?"

I nodded, and as soon as she'd walked out the door, I swore that I heard her say "Oh finally!"


	3. Chapter 3

_**A Second Chance—Leah + OC (Set After Breaking Dawn)**_

**Leah Clearwater have suffered through a lot when her fiancé left her for her second cousin, and she slowly started to give up on love completely. When she started phasing, everything that she thought she could have again was stripped from her, especially the ability to be able to conceive a child. A couple of years have passed, and Leah's cousin asked her to be her maid of honor and the next thing Leah knows, she ends up going on a weekend bridal shower at a hotel up in Seattle.**

**During a long weekend at the hotel, Leah thought that she would be suffering the entire time, but not until she meets the owner of the hotel where she finds herself having a wonderful time. **

**Zack Ackerman owns many hotels across the country, and eventually in some countries as well, and though he's pretty successful...his love life is not. Being a single father to a little girl named Holly, Zack and Holly's mother's marriage didn't work out very well. Zack was too focused on his job while raising his daughter, that when he looked into Leah's eyes, his whole world changed...possibly for the better.**

**As Leah and Zack started to spend some more time together, Leah's secret and Zack's wealthy lifestyle and his nagging ex-wife tends to get in the way of a relationship that was meant to last. Will Leah and Zack make it to the end, or will it be too late?**

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading this story, and hopefully there's more to come. Zack and Leah's relationship will be put to the test throughout this story, but Leah does deserve a little happiness in her life. Though I think that every single characters from every books that I have read deserves a happily ever after...Leah is by far the one who deserves it the most.<strong>

**I'm sorry for the inconvenience of not having another chapter posted right away. With the holidays coming too quickly, and with resuming my work schedule before classes resumes in a couple of weeks...I've hardly had time to post my chapters, and even new stories. Once everything is sorted out, hopefully I'll have a set schedule for all of my stories, and I thank you all for your support and hope to hear from you soon!**

**I have considered in creating another story with Leah in it, though it would be similar to my two bachelor themed stories. What's everyone opinion about this? Should I write a bachelorette story on Leah or not? I would greatly appreciate the input! **

**Please check my profile page and vote for your choice with regards to this story idea.**

**Thanks a bunch and happy reading, from Tessa Anne**

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><p><em>Chapter 2<em>

_Leah's POV_

When I got to my hotel room, my heart was still pounding very loudly in my chest. Zack...God he gets my heart racing a mile a minute. I mean, I haven't felt this way about anyone since Sam, and yet meeting Zack...it scares me. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't love ever again after what Sam and Emily put me through, and yet here I am.

This was supposed to be about my cousin's wedding to my ex-fiancé, and I'm beginning to second-guess that I should never have agreed to going on a date with him. I plopped down on the bed that I would be sleeping on for the next few days, and as I'm trying to stop the on-going inner thoughts that are fighting it out in my head, there was a knock at the door.

Groaning, I got up and went to open it, only to find Renesmee (who looks like she's eight) and Rachel barreling on in, with Kim carrying Claire and Emily's sister-in-law Beth with Claire's older sister Cora following close behind. "Hey Leah, do you know what we're doing for Emily's bachelorette party tomorrow night?" Kim asked me, as she laid Claire down next to me on the bed. Luckily Claire was asleep, but I felt a little lost.

This is what happens when I let a guy cloud my judgment.

"Well, Emily said she just wanted a simple weekend that doesn't include anything that could get us arrested." I said jokingly, but I could tell that Rachel and Kim were not amused like everyone else.

Beth sat down in a chair, with Cora climbing on top of her. "I think we should a special brunch tomorrow morning and celebrate her upcoming wedding, and we could go to the spa tomorrow and have a little makeover. That way, both the little girls could have some fun that's appropriate for their age, and we could relax a little before we return to our normal lives after this."

I was very grateful for Beth Young; she the only one that could be peacemaker in any kind of situation. Though she and my cousin Ronnie have no clue about the secrets that Emily, Claire, and I will live with for the rest of our lives, Beth knows how to bring normalcy back when it comes to confrontations and any other complicated situations that arises.

Everybody agreed, and once Emily came inside my room, I went over to the window so that the other imprints could hang out with her. Honestly, I felt like an outsider in the group, and I still don't know why I'm here when practically everyone else hates me. Opening the doors of the windows, I stepped out onto the balcony and rested my arms over the railing. Looking down, I saw Zack heading toward a very nice (and probably expensive) car. I wasn't sure what I was feeling, but I could feel a part of me drifting away with him once he takes off in that car.

Hoping that part of it was the imprint (and the other was that he's interested in me), Zack turned around and his eyes caught mines. He smiled and blew a kiss at me, and I chuckled and waved as he got in with an older lady and another guy wearing an earpiece. Beth came from behind me as Zack was driving away, and asked, "So, who is he?"

"Oh, uh...just a guy I accidently bumped into down in the hotel lobby earlier."

"What's his name?"

"Zack, his name is Zack."

"Are you gonna go out with him or what?"

How does she do it? She knows me a whole lot better than anyone else does right now (well, maybe other than Renesmee and Claire who knows that real me; then again, they're both very young and their soul mates are my pack brothers). "Well, uh, he asked me out for tonight."

"Did you say yes? Please tell me that you did,"

I tried to hide my smile, but I was unsuccessful. "Oh Leah, this is great!"

"Really? Are you just saying that because you're Emily's sister-in-law, and you want to make sure that I don't ruin her wedding?"

"No, I really mean it. Leah, I know that you've been through a lot. Hell, even Emily knows it, and all we want is for you to be happy. Obviously, meeting this Zack guy is giving you the green light to start over again. You deserve this Leah, just don't lose this moment that will change the rest of your life."

"It may change my life, Beth...but is it for the better? Or could this be a bad thing?"

"Leah, before Ronnie and I got together, I have had my shares of kissing frogs. All those times, I thought I would never find love again, but little did I know that my true love would be the guy I grew up with my entire life." Beth took my hand and held it close in hers, and continued. "Leah, you have had your heart broken, and it's okay to be sad and upset...but if you don't allow your heart to love another, you may never find the kind of love you've longed for probably since you were a little girl. Take the chance, and get to know the guy."

I wanted to think that this will work because of the imprint, and I know that Zack is mines...but I have been broken for too long to allow another man in it again. "But what if I'm wrong about this? What if it doesn't work out?"

"Well, think of it as a learning experience. Whatever doesn't work in this relationship, you can try to avoid in the next relationship you'll have."

What do I got to lose, right? Looks like I'm going on a date with this guy...I just hope that I'm doing the right thing for my imprint and for myself.


End file.
